Health Care

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Affordable Care Act or ACA) enacted comprehensive health insurance reforms designed to ensure Americans have access to quality, affordable health insurance. Learn what the law means for small businesses and self-employed business owners

Find out which key Affordable Care Act provisions may impact small businesses with 50 or more employees.

Affordable Care Act 101 Webinars for Small Employers

SBA, the Department of Health Human and Services, and Small Business Majority have teamed up for a free webinar series where small employers can learn the basics of the Affordable Care Act and what it means for their organization and employees. Topics covered include the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit, the new Health Insurance Marketplace, and Employer Shared Responsibility and new employer reporting requirements. Webinar content will generally be the same each week. Below are the registration links for upcoming webinars in English and Spanish.

Spanish-language ACA 101 Webinars

The Health Insurance Marketplace

The Marketplace is a new way to find quality health coverage. It can help self-employed individuals and small business owners if you dont have coverage now or if you have it but want to look at other options. States have the option of running their own Marketplace, partnering with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to partially run the Marketplace, or opting for a Marketplace run by HHS.

Insurance plans in the Marketplace are offered by private companies. They all cover the same essential health benefits. No plan can turn you away or charge you more because you or your employees have an illness or medical condition. They must cover treatments for these conditions. Plans also can't charge women more than men for the same plan, and many preventive services are covered at no cost to you.

Small employer? Enrollment in the small employer Marketplace, known as SHOP, is year-round. Learn more about the SHOP Marketplace in your state by visiting Healthcare.gov. For questions about SHOP, call 1-800-706-7893 (TTY: 711) Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. EST.

The Internal Revenue Service is responsible for tax provisions of the Affordable Care Act that will be implemented during the next several years. You can find a list of provisions now in effect, with periodic updates, from the IRS.